I’m all for equal opportunity. The following are my Greek Food and Drink Faves:

1.   Saganaki Midia:  Mussels in a tomato and feta cheese wine sauce. Yummy! Not to be confused with plain saganaki, which is fried cheese, or saganaki garides, which contains prawns instead of mussels. But if you make a mistake, don’t worry; you just can’t go wrong here!

2.  Kolokithokeftedes:  That’s a mouthful in more ways than one! These are a zucchini-herb mixture formed into balls and fried.

3.  Greek Yogurt with Skopelos honey, walnuts and fruit: Yes, you no longer have to travel to Greece to experience Greek yogurt, especially if you have a Trader Joe’s close by. If you want, however, to experience the typical Greek yogurt, we’re talking sheep’s milk. And you’ll just have to travel to the Mamma Mia Island to sample Skopelos honey…pine tree flavored…no kidding! (See pic)

4.  Greek Salad- Horiatiki: Okay, this may be boring, but it’s close to perfect. You get a combination of veggies—usually tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and perhaps green peppers with very healthy Greek olives and great protein, feta cheese. It even works for vegetarians, and is usually an economical choice.

5.  Beets with Skordalia: I know that I already mentioned this one, but it is a favorite. The garlic is great for the immune system too.

6.  Favorite ouzos: I have two. Plomariou and Barbayannis. Both are produced in the town of Ploumari on Lesvos. There’s nothing more to say; you’ll just have to try them. If you can have only one meze (appetizer) with ouzo, then ask for a bowl of great-tasting Greek olives. If you want protein (probably a good idea) then order #7.

7.  Fresh grilled octopus: This plus a glass of ouzo is just about as close as one can get to heaven.

8.  Horta: A Greek food staple, horta literally means “grass.” It’s boiled dandelion greens. There are many varieties—some more bitter, some less so. This dish is served with lemon, olive oil and salt. Women in particular benefit from this extremely healthy dish, because it is rich in phytoestrogens (weak naturally-occurring plant compounds that bind to estrogen receptor sites, thus providing some protection against the effects of stronger estrogens.) The previously low incidence of breast cancer in Greek women was attributed to the high intake of olive oil, but I wouldn’t be surprised if horta played an important role. Are you seeing a pattern?  I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the original Mediterranean diets are the best!

9.  Fried zucchini withTzatziki: Okay. This one’s not so healthy, but wow is it yummy. Realize that there are as many different tzatzikis as there are Greek cooks. I like mine with—yes, you guessed it—lots of garlic and lemon (not vinegar). For those of you who haven’t yet tried it, this is a thick yogurt dip (the Greeks call all their dips salads, salata) with garlic, lemon or vinegar, cucumber, olive oil and dill.

10.  Favorite dessert: Oh, I have so many, but if I had to pick one, it would be the loukoumades with Skopelos honey. Sorry, I’m biased.  I can’t remember the name of the particular zacharoplastio (sweet shop), but if you’re headed to Skopelos, send me an e-mail and I’ll give you directions. Loukoumades are large donut holes.  My favorite ones are huge, the gigantic variety to match the big beans, gigantes…oops that’s #11, and I committed to just ten.

It’s no surprise that my Fave List is much longer than my Warning List. Hope these show up on your Fave List too!

 


Comments

Nova link
09/11/2009 4:11pm

Wow an intresting article, are you greek or a traveler? You have great insight in food keep the articles coming

Reply
Rebecca Elia link
09/12/2009 9:00am

Hi Nova,
Not genetically Greek, but an "honorary" Greek. I've been coming to Greece annually for twenty years and lived in Greece for two.
Glad that you're enjoying the blog posts! Am in Greece right now. If you're on Twitter, you can follow me at: @rebeccaelia.
Rebecca

Reply
Mediterranean Diet Recipes link
04/08/2010 5:40pm

I really love Fried zucchini withTzatziki too! I think it's healthy though and it certainly is something you can eat over and over again. of all the Mediterranean spots to choose from, Greece seems to have the best tasting Mediterranean recipes.

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Roger Rollins link
07/27/2010 2:45pm

I am going to the Greek Islands with my girlfriend. We are going to take a cruise. She has been to Greece before, and she loves it. She always comments on the food. these are some of the islands that we are going to Crete Santorini Delos Mykonos Hydra Patmos Amorgos Kos Rhodes. I can't wait it's going to be a lot of fun. I also heard the food was out of this world.

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Rebecca link
07/27/2010 2:51pm

Sounds like a wonderful trip! Enjoy!
Kalo Taksidi!

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kefalonia holidays link
08/06/2010 1:12am

Fresh grilled octopus sounds interesting. I think I might try it next time.

Reply
Rebecca link
08/06/2010 6:53pm

Make sure it's fresh! But, then, you probably already knew this.

Reply

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